I’ve just been fired by Goldman Sachs

Our relationship began almost twenty years ago, when I was in my impressionable twenties. I was young, free and, erm, approximately single. It began almost by accident. I was working for an American firm, I had shares in the company, there was a public markets event which I took part in and the next thing I knew I’d begun a long distance relationship.

It wasn’t ever a particularly passionate, intimate relationship. In fact I got much more involved with another member of the same family, in London, in a brief fling that left me hurt, scarred and financially damaged. But somehow the long distance relationship continued. Occasional phone calls usually with me asking for something. A few letters – an annual ritual, for the most part.

I considered splitting up earlier this year. I was trying to buy a house and I needed some help, some support. I picked up the phone, and I made my feelings clear. I had worked out what I wanted and I asked for it. I was told No, not if I wanted to stay in London. When I realised I couldn’t rely on the relationship, and in fact got more support from other relationships in the UK, I almost broke it off. But somehow I just reduced my involvement even further and kept going through the motions.

The phone calls had now become only occasional events, and were always about money. I can’t remember the last letter I received.

So imagine my surprise when I got a letter, last week. With the familiar postmark. When I opened it, I couldn’t quite believe my eyes – what I was reading. No personal greeting, even. Just cold, impersonal prose. Not even an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. Just complete clarity that our past relationship (!) is over, and a request for me to remove my stuff by the end of the month. If possible.

I’ve never been dumped before, let alone this way. Thank God there wasn’t a request for money.

Wow – they dont hold back do they! Clearly you arent trading enough to make them enough money to warrant having your account with them! Seems somewhat harsh that you only have 30 days to move everything out, but I guess it depends on where it is in the small print!
I wait with interest to see where you move to…!
FIREin’ London

In 2014 the US strong-armed every non-US bank on the face of the planet to grass up all US citizens on their books. Banks (understandably) objected, not least because sending bulk information to the IRS would contravene UK and other data privacy laws. To end-run around this, the US started implementing “Intergovernmental Agreements”, whereby banks would instead report US customers to their own country’s tax authority, and that would in turn pass it on to the IRS. Tada, data privacy sidestepped, and another basic right to personal information trampled.

However… to get other countries to agree to the IGAs, the US had to promise to reciprocate by sending to each other country the data on that country’s taxpayers. And that means work for US banks, who must now collate all that and send it to US tax authorities. It’s uncompensated, so they don’t want to do it. It is instead simpler and cheaper for them to just rid themselves of the handful of now-troublesome/costly non-US customers they might have. Customers such as you, apparently.

FATCA is a violation of human rights. It should be repealed. I know many normal (not wealthy) dual citizens who have spent their entire adult lives working and living in the UK – they pay tax where they work and live (the UK). They didn’t know about FATCA or the ridiculous system of US citizenship based taxation (not resident based taxation like the rest of the world).

They’ve had their bank accounts closed, their investment accounts closed (they were unaware that a stock ISA was considered a PFIC and huge tax would be payable to the USA). The only thing they can invest in are certain pension schemes that are approved under the UK/US tax treaty. The entire situation is a huge injustice. These expats can’t live normal lives. They are disadvantaged in trying to save for retirement. When they try to renounce their US citizenship/passport to escape the nightmare they’re told they must be 5 years compliant in filing US tax returns (!) and then pay approx US $2,500 fee…plus sometimes an exit tax.
US expats are trapped. Most fat cat tax evaders live in the USA and have secret swiss bank accounts – the USA should stop persecuting law abiding American abraod – expats. They are treated like criminals. The situation is so crazy that most do not believe this actually happens.